Sorry for the wait, but here is the next chapter.
Bare foot and hair dripping from the shower, Tony found his floormate looking pensively out of the window. He knew that look on the man's face, it was one he has worn many times. It was one that held pain of the past that still haunts you in the present.
Jarvis had alerted him that the god had woken up from what seemed to be a nightmare. It wasn't the first time it had happened he had noticed, it has been happening for a few weeks now.
But he never talked about it.
Tony knew what it was like to have nightmares. After Afghanistan. After almost dying. After falling out of space. They happened more than anything else when he slept. It's one of the reasons why he doesn't sleep much. Sleep was avoided until someone forced him to bed or he crashed after days in the lab.
"Hey Loki," he greeted, pulling the Asgardian out of his thoughts.
Loki turned around and saw one of the very men he was thinking about. The one that intrigued him most.
"Tony," he replied acknowledging the man.
"What brings you here at this hour?" Tony asked, even though he knew why.
Loki took one last look outside the window, at the New York skyline; the light of the city illuminating his pale skin, and then moved to sit on the sofa that was in the lounge, "I would believe that you already know the answer to your question."
"Alright so maybe I do. I'm a genius. I know things." Tony stated as he sat down facing Loki on the same section of sofa, placing his arm over the back. He took notice of the taller man's appearance, Loki always looked so well put together, always with a regal stance to him. And now, he seemed off, his long raven hair mussed from sleep, and a slight look of terror still alive in his unnaturally emerald eyes. A man who still lived in terror.
"From what I have observed, that is truth."
There was a silence between the two, it was both uncomfortable and yet warranted. It felt almost soothing to merely be in each others company. What broke the silence was the coffee machine alerting them that the brew was ready.
"I believe that it is my turn to offer you a drink." Loki smirked at the remembrance of the first time that he had spoken to Stark one on one, when the other man was as he said 'going to threaten him'.
"Glad you did eventually take me up on my offer," Tony admitted as he remembered the night that he had found Loki in his tower.
Tony had walked into the penthouse suite that was finally finished being repaired after the whole Loki and Hulk confrontation. Pepper had worked on the repair details mostly, while Tony was out helping put New York back together.
He trusted Pepper with just about everything, even his mechanical heart. Although she returned that not long after the Battle of New York. She could handle everything, but the stress of worrying whether Tony was going to die or not every time that he deployed in the suit had become too much for her to bear. Luckily nothing much really had changed between the two, well other than the now lack of sex, but it was for the best... for Pepper.
It was night time, late for other people, but Tony was just coming out of his lab. Bruce, who had been staying with him, having given him his own lab and floor since Tony drove straight to the tower instead of letting Bruce just disappear after seeing Loki and Thor off to Asgard, had long ago went to bed.
Tony looked around, not really paying attention until something unexpectedly caught his eye.
It was Loki.
He was situated on the sofa, simply reading a novel. The strangest part of it all, was that he looked like he belonged there. He was out of his Asgardian dress and in a more casual version of what he wore at Stuttgart, a crisp white oxford, black slacks and dress shoes.
Tony was confused to see the god. He turned back and forth from the hallway he came from and to where Loki sat. There was no news from Thor or S.H.I.E.L.D. or any one about Loki being back on Earth. Before Tony could act on any of the options quickly in his head the other man spoke first.
"Do come join me, instead of standing there and attempting an excellent fish impression."
Against what other people might call better judgement, the billionaire did join him. Then again when did Tony do anything that was reasonably sane?
"Did they run out of books wherever you came from? Cause I don't remember becoming a library."
"On parr with a new imminent threat to your planet that is not I, circumstances have found to have me released from confinement in Asgard. You're welcome." Loki said as he closed the book that he was previously engrossed in.
"So what? You're here to help us now?"
"More like a mutual benefit." he told with a self satisfied smirk.
"That I can live with for the moment." Like Tony, he knew that Loki would be one to save his own skin if the situation came up. They were both thinkers and manipulators, always a step ahead of others. It just looks like Tony had to catch up in this round of the game. In this instance, this god of lies could be trusted to be telling the truth this time.
"Well I believe I was owed a drink, Stark."
"True. So what's your poison?"
"What variety do you have?"
"Anything you want, sweetheart." Tony smiled, playing with the god.
"A nice brandy, if you please"
"You got it."
Loki returned to his book as Tony went to get the drinks.
"Yep. Who knew we'd end up here."
"Indeed. Would coffee suffice?"
"Yep. Drink of the gods."
"Quite literally." Loki smirked.
TBC
